Warhol painting fetches record $105M at New York auction

By Ula Ilnytzky
Associated Press

Published: Thursday, Nov. 14 2013 6:57 a.m. MST

This Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013 photo provided by Christie's New York shows the bidding during the auction for the 1969 painting by Francis Bacon, "Three Studies of Lucian Freud" in New York. "Three Studies of Lucian Freud" was sold at Christie's postwar and contemporary art sale for over $142 million in New York, a record for most expensive artwork ever sold at auction. (Christie's Images LTD. 2013, Associated Press)

NEW YORK — A prized 1963 Andy Warhol painting that captures the immediate aftermath of a car crash has sold for $105 million at a New York auction, shattering the record for the famed pop artist amid a spending frenzy in the art world.

The 8-by-13-foot painting titled "Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster)" depicts a twisted body sprawled across a car's mangled interior. It has been seen only once in public in the past 26 years. Sotheby's, which conducted the auction Wednesday, did not immediately identify the buyer.

The previous Warhol auction record was set in 2007 when "Green Car Crash (Green Burning Car I)" sold for $71.7 million.

Another iconic Warhol, "Coca-Cola (3)," sold for $57.2 million Tuesday at Christie's auction house, and his portrait of Elizabeth Taylor titled "Liz #1 (Early Colored Liz)" sold for $20 million Wednesday.

This Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013 photo provided by Christie's New York shows the bidding during the auction for the 1969 painting by Francis Bacon, "Three Studies of Lucian Freud" in New York. "Three Studies of Lucian Freud" was sold at Christie's postwar and contemporary art sale for over $142 million in New York, a record for most expensive artwork ever sold at auction. (Christie's Images LTD. 2013, Associated Press)

A Willem de Kooning abstract painting in red, yellow and white called "Untitled V," not seen in public since 1980, sold for $24.8 million Wednesday. The sale fell short of the record for the artist's works, set Tuesday at Christie's with the sale of his "Untitled VIII" from 1977.

Sotheby's said the sale brought in over $480.4 million. None of the buyers was identified.

The Warhol record came a day after the most expensive work of art ever sold at auction went for $142.4 million following six minutes of feverish bidding at Christie's. The hefty price tag for a 1967 Francis Bacon triptych called "Three Studies of Lucian Freud" shattered the previous world record — nearly $120 million paid for Edvard Munch's "The Scream" at a 2012 Sotheby's sale.

Christie's said the winning bid went to New York City's Acquavella Galleries. It is believed that the gallery was buying it for an unidentified client.

FILE - This file photo provided by Sotheby's shows "Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster)" by Andy Warhol. The silkscreen print with multiple photos of the aftermath of a car which collided into a tree measures 8 feet by 13 feet and is part of Warhol's "Death and Disaster" series. The work, scheduled for auction at Sotheby's on Nov. 13, 2013, is expected to fetch as much as $80 million, which would establish a new record for the pop artist. (Sotheby's, File, Associated Press)

Over the past 10 days, auction houses around the world have presided over bids totaling nearly $2 billion for art and jewelry, Sotheby's said. Christie's said Tuesday's sale brought in more than $691.5 million, the highest total for any single auction in history.

Buyers from Asia, the Middle East and Russia play a big role in the contemporary art market, said Richard Feigen, an art dealer and collector whose Manhattan gallery has works spanning from the 14th century to contemporary art.

"The demand for seminal works by historical important artists is truly unquestionable, and we will keep witnessing new records being broken," said Michael Frahm, a contemporary art adviser and partner at the London-based Frahm Ltd.